Plans for silt disposal at former mine rejected

Proposals to treat and dispose of contaminated silt dredged from an Isle of Man marina at the site of a former mine have been thrown out by planners.

The planning committee rejected the government's application to use land at Cross Vein Mine in Foxdale to repurpose the silt from Peel Marina before using it to fill in eroded areas at the site.

Reasons for refusal included concerns over increased traffic during the project and a lack of consideration of alternative ways to dispose of the material.

However, plans to extend the lifespan of the operation of a silt lagoon near Peel, and turn a site at Poortown already holding some of the material into a permanent store, were approved.

Peel Marina sees about 3,000 tonnes of silt, containing traces of heavy metals including zinc and lead, wash into the harbour from the River Nebb each year.

Efforts to deal with a build up of 44,000 tonnes began more than a decade ago after concerns the over the viability of berths in the marina.

As a result, a temporary lagoon to dry silt at Ballaterson Farm was formed in 2020 by the Department of Food, Agriculture and Environment (Defa).

The committee heard, if plans went ahead, large HGV lorries and other operational traffic needed to set up the site would need to travel from the lagoon in Peel to the site in Foxdale.

The plans were designed to assist the "ongoing management" of Peel's lagoon, tackling the problem "at source" to see a reduction in the area's zinc and led content.

Objecting to the plans, Kerrie Jenkins of Arbory and Rushen Commissioners said part of the area around the mine was held under a statutory trust and not entirely owned by Defa.

She said there's been "no meaningful public consultation" on the plans, and raised concerns about the ecological impacts of the works, which would have seen the installation of a settlement pond, temporary treatment plant, drainage ditches and landscape and fencing works.

Jenkins also argued the cumulative impact of the plans alongside proposals for a wind farm at Earystane had not been taken into account.

The decision on the plans split the committee three votes for and three against, with chairman Rob Callister MHK siding against the application with the casting vote.

Defa has been approached for comment regarding the decision.

However, the committee agreed to allow the silt lagoon near Peel's power station to continue work until 31 December 2027.

That site, which was originally given planning permission for five years in 2019, currently dries and stores the sediment, with wastewater transported via a pipeline back to the marina.

Plans were also approved to make a temporary silt store at Rockmount, adjacent to a government-owned quarry on Poortown Road in German, permanent.

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